Personal Space: Belma Gaudio

Ever wanted to take a look around the homes of Britain's most stylish residents? In Personal Space, we take a deep dive into design, looking at the moodboards of industry insiders to find out how they curate their space. From luxury finds in designer boutiques to secondhand shopping secrets, we ask the experts for the interior design tips that made their house a home. Next up, Belma Gaudio, founder of designer boutique KOIBIRD takes us through how her love of colour and experimentation has shaped the store's futuristic redesign.

How would you describe KOIBIRD's approach to interior design?

KOIBIRD’s style mirrors what it offers in fashion: bold, unique, colourful items with unexpected design elements that carry a sense of adventure and individuality, making it perfect for those who want their living space to feel like an art gallery or a vibrant space full of treasures with a story to tell and a personality to express. Be it glassware, vases, lighters, cushions, plates or any objects, they all have a sense of fun, wit and an artisanal flair.

If we were to walk into the store on any given day, what would we be likely to see?

Design studio Uchronia has overhauled the KOIBIRD boutique in Marylebone, London, introducing an eclectic gradient colour scheme and details including a giant planet sculpture and a floor made from painted lava stone. A bright, futuristic palette was used, with green blending into pink and purple in the store's main room, with a surprise disco room in the back for the interiors section, all clad in disco-style mosaics.

As Uchronia put it, silver represents transformation, serving as a visual metaphor for the evolution and versatility that defines KOIBIRD's identity. [Also] new is the KOI 11 nutrition café, housed inside the store with its own unique molecular purple branding and a menu of 11 treats featuring supplement and nutrition-focused drinks and sweet bites.

What aesthetic style, era or vibe is speaking to you the most right now?

I really like what Uchronia is doing in interiors right now, introducing a lot of colour and playfulness but in a grown-up, sophisticated way, without looking childish. I like new and interesting ways to play with colour that are elevated and reminiscent of walking into a contemporary art painting.

What are some of the best bits about the London store?

We are located in the amazing Marylebone Lane, which has great energy and a chic community feel. [There are] so many great restaurants, coffee shops and stores, and we feel like we are in the perfect neighbourhood for our brand. Our immersive store experience has always been the draw; it’s a unique place to discover new things, and now with the addition of KOI 11, we are spreading that sense of discovery to food and drink.

I think the way forward in retail spaces is to incorporate all the different experiences a consumer wants when they go to a space, which includes discovering new fashion, cool new objects and enjoying a health-driven, visually tantalising drink and a snack.

What are some of the best buys you have invested in for the store recently?

One new clothing brand we are very excited about is Françoise, a French luxury upcycling brand that emphasises sustainability by creating unique pieces from luxurious vintage fabrics, all produced in Paris. The collection includes silk dresses, tailored shirts and modern trench coats, with a commitment to crafts[person]ship.

We also are excited to carry Giovanni Gerosa this season, an Italian luxury brand which features crochet dresses, silk shirts and knitwear, all distinguished by their unique textures and vibrant colour palettes. The collection is a bit of a dreamland, a journey into colourful, handmade garments that are unique and special.

Whose interiors might we find in your Saved folder as inspo?

My inspiration folders are very vast; I am not inspired by any one style or era, but it’s a whole mixture of worlds, from various vintage imagery to Verner Panton, Jacques Lagrange, Studio Peregalli, Wes Anderson and Jacques Lacoste Gallery, and I love Instagram feeds like @__dreamspaces and @decorhardcore.

How do you refresh interior trends for each season?

It’s very much based on a feeling, a mood, a theme, but always staying true to the brand. It was driven by travel destinations in the past where the store had a very strong destination location theme. However, since COVID, we stopped focusing on that and started doing more general themes and inspirations from movies, to hosting party themes and then moving more into an art focus.

In the past few years, the store focused on art collaborations, for example with Mexican artist Rafael Uriegas, who painted the whole store in one of his murals, and we have collaborated with Salon 94 in NYC in the past to feature Kwangho Lee in our Korean concept. This season, we just wanted a fresh, cosmic, futuristic vibe that complemented the addition of the café, and Uchronia brought that to life.

KOI 11 allows shoppers to eat and drink adaptogenic and probiotic food and drink alongside their shopping experience. How did you come up with the concept of the wellness space, and what does it mean to KOIBIRD?

KOIBIRD’s purpose is a sense of discovery and finding something unique, interesting and aspirational, and we wanted to translate that to food and drink. Personally, I am quite a foodie but also very health-focused, and I’m often at a loss when I go to cafés, as most carry the same drinks that I don’t drink (coffee, for example, or bad-quality matcha), which are loaded with fatty milk or full of additives and syrups, and the snacks are all sugary and high in nuts; and always contain dates, bananas and unnecessary fats that are not nutritious in the amounts consumed.

So, I wanted to create a food and drink place that is exciting, fresh, different, guilt-free and nutritious. [It's] the perfect place for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon drink and snack when the lull sets in and you don’t want to have a full-on dessert but [rather] a nourishing treat. I wanted a place where I could have as many drinks and bites as I wanted knowing there was nothing "bad" in them. And they are delicious!

What are some of your favourite items on the menu?

[It] depends on the time of day! I actually don’t like coffee, but I like our adaptogenic coffee called The Way You Make Me Feel because it has a mix [we call] Happiness, which promotes hormonal balance and moods. I also love our fig leaf and apple cider vinegar tisane called Suga Killa, which has amazing blood sugar benefits, and as I am a protein-shake drinker (only at home, as I often find in external locations, they are full of "bad" things!), I also love our matcha and ube collagen protein shake called Beauty and a Beast.

What are your favourite trends to shop now at KOIBIRD?

We don’t really buy into trends, nor do I shop [them], however, if I had to pick what my favourite themes are at the store, I would say crochet and artisanal items. We also have a special artist collaboration in March, which involves an artist who produces vases and vessels that look like they are made out of piped sugar!

Where are your personal favourite places to shop for:

- Vintage/Antiques: Resee, Jean Vintage, Vestiaire for vintage fashion, Rose Uniacke, Golborne 44 and The Apartment.dk for antiques. Anemone Interiors for some wild '80s pieces. For antiques, I go to auctions a lot. Invaluable is a great app for various smaller auctions.

- Affordable pieces: Collagerie is a marketplace that has a good mix of high and low, and it's very well curated. I look on Etsy a lot too for cute things, even small vintage decorative items like Limoges porcelain, little figurines or old Belleek china.

- Luxury investment pieces: 1st Dibs; there is something for everyone on there.

- Textiles, accessories and decorative finishing touches: I tend to look for antique textiles where possible. My favourites would be Fortuny and Rubelli. I love Uchronia’s furniture and accessories to add a dose of fun, and then a lot of my decorative fishing touches are KOIBIRD or random antiques I find at auctions, markets and mostly on my travels. There is also a cute feed on Instagram called Octopuses, with lovely little things. And in the U.S., I am always browsing Houses and Parties. It's such a fun online store.

What advice would you give anyone wanting to redecorate their space?

- Small changes can make a big difference. Move furniture around to different locations or different rooms. It freshens things up and perhaps you'll find a better place for things.

- New paint colour can also make a big difference. Perhaps experiment with borders around door frames, wallpaper in bookshelves, stripes on floors, etc. Painting or decorating the bones can change things up a lot. Then you can add small decorative items like cushions, blankets, trays, books and candle holders. I tend to like a theme or an animal, then I start to collect things in that theme. Right now, it’s roosters!

- If you want to do a bigger redo, make sure you are crystal clear that it will always be more expensive and take more time and effort than you initially think! Be honest from the outset about what it is going to take.

- Redecorating is a rebirth. It’s a chance to start fresh and a new blank canvas, and that is so exciting, as life doesn’t afford us many of those. So, if you have had a breakup, if you are down, if you are going in a different direction in life, if you are living in a space you don’t feel is a real reflection of who you are anymore or if your space has bad energy (if it doesn’t make you happy, calm and content) you should definitely redecorate.

SHOP BELMA'S STYLE: